Guyana president suspends television station

October 6, 2011 4:16 PM ET

New York, October 6, 2011--Guyanese president Bharrat
Jagdeo has suspended television station CNS6 from broadcasting
for four months in the period leading up to the presidential elections,
according to local news reports. The suspension stemmed
from a May 4 broadcast that aired comments about a local bishop who is a close
associate of the president, news
reports said.

"We are alarmed that President Bharrat Jagdeo has decided to suspend television station CNS6," said CPJ's Americas Senior Program Coordinator Carlos Lauría. "All Guyanese media must be allowed to report the news freely before the presidential election so that citizens can access information from multiple sources."

In May, parliament
member Tony Viera, who hosts a
commentary program on the station, criticized local bishop Juan Edghill, chairman of the government's Ethnic Relations
Commission, and accused him of promoting the government's interests, The
Associated Press reported. Edghill initiated a civil suit against Viera, and on Friday, the
president announced that he was suspending the station, starting on October 3, for libeling the bishop, news reports
said.

The press reported that the suspension was originally for eight
months, but the ban was shortened after station owners Chandra Narine Sharma,
leader of an opposition party, and Savitrie Singh-Sharma appealed to him
personally. The couple also told the Demerara
Waves Online News
that they
would have to lay off approximately 30 employees and that the
president said they could appeal the decision after a new president was elected.
They are now considering their legal options, a news
report said
today.

Opposition groups have questioned the pre-election timing of
the suspension, calling it an "outrage," press
reports said. The president told reporters that the decision and its timing were not politically motivated, and
said that Viera's statements were "inciting religious intolerance."

In Guyana,
the president, who also serves as minister of information, makes all decisions
regarding violations of the broadcast license for television stations. The AP reported that CNS6 was suspended for four months last year after it aired
footage of the president dancing at a party and said he was celebrating while
the country was experiencing mass flooding.